Guy Finley

All creatures in life are created to reach their natural fruition. The Great Life generously provides all of them with everything they need to fulfill their promise. This same abundance holds true for our spiritual awakening as well. Everything we need to succeed is forever raining down upon and within us.

The spiritually awakened life is not something that one achieves, like an award for fine art or some other measured performance. The true Higher Life comes to us naturally and reveals and expresses itself in anyone who realizes that, like the sun above us, this Living Light within us is always present.

It is we who are absent from this eternally indwelling Life, not because these vital forces are withheld from us, but because we waste them. Following are 21 Ways We Waste our Vital Life Forces, and for whose loss we remain sound asleep spiritually. Study these thieves closely and catch them in the act of stealing your chances for Higher Life as they drain away your vital life forces.

All forms of useless talking

Being wrongly involved in the life of anyone else

Daydreams of any nature

Using excessive emotions

Keeping “accounts” on those who have displeased you

Sitting in judgment of anyone for any reason

Becoming identified with anything

Useless thinking, such as speculating “why?”

Overindulging yourself

Resisting your environment or the unpleasant manifestations of others

Being concerned with how others see you

Defending yourself from imagined enemies, as with quips or sarcasm

Puttering around in order to keep yourself feeling productive

Any form of sexual imagination

Rushing through or to anything

All forms of frustration, including impatience and anger

Doing anything in half measures, or leaving things hanging

Telling “little” lies

Taking part in any dialogue with yourself

Seeking any form of vengeance or retribution, embracing resentment

Wrestling with anxious feelings and trying to think your way out of pain

For extra benefit, make a list of ways you suspect your own vital forces are being wasted. Then stop throwing away your chance to know Real Life!

21 Ways We Waste Our Vital Life Forces was last modified: May 3rd, 2016 by Guy Finley

There are spiritual laws that govern what we will or won’t discover about ourselves in this lifetime. And when we understand that self-knowledge is to our spiritual growth what a spring rain is to the wildflower seeds that await it, then we also realize how vital it is to not just embrace these higher laws but embrace them mind, body, and soul.

Following are three laws to help you awaken and realize your highest spiritual possibilities…

If It Doesn’t Flow, There’s More to Know

Learn to recognize all forms of strain — whether at work, in your creative efforts, or in your relationships — as being unnecessary. The mounting friction you feel when busy at some labor is never caused by the task at hand but by what you don’t yet know about it. This means the only real reason for your strain is that you’ve got hold of a wrong idea you don’t yet see as wrong. This new insight allows you to release yourself by showing you what you need to know. Flowing follows your new knowing.

Refuse to Take the Easy Way

There’s no getting away from what you don’t know, which is why anytime you feel compelled to go around a problem by taking the easy way, i.e., pretending it doesn’t exist, blaming others for your pain, or meeting it with half-measures, that problem always comes back around again. And isn’t that what makes life seem so hard? Learn to see the “easy way” as a lying thought that keeps you tied up and doing hard time.

Getting through something is not the same as having it completed. And as this insight grows, so will your understanding that the whole idea of the “hard way” has always been just a lying thought as well. Now you know: the complete way is the easy way. So volunteer to make the “hard way” your way, and learn what it means to live the effortless way.

Persistence Always Prevails

If you’ll persist with your sincere wish for higher learning, you can’t help but succeed. Persistence always prevails because part of its power is to hold you in place until either the world lines up with your wish or you see that your wish is out of line. But, for whichever way it turns in that moment, you’ve won something that only persistence can buy.

If you get what you think you have to have to be happy and you’re still not satisfied, then you’ve learned what doesn’t work. Now you can go on to higher things. And should you learn you’ve been wearing yourself out with useless wishes, then this discovery allows you to turn your energies in a new direction: self-liberation.

Everywhere we look, people are concerned with essentially one thing: getting what they want, when they want it, and as fast as possible. The fires that fuel their appetite for this envisioned success create so much smoke that they lose sight of the fact that all they reap for their insistent sowing are the cold ashes of regret raked out of broken relationships.

If we are ever to realize the integrity and consistent kindness of our True Nature, if we long to know something of heaven while we live on earth, then we must sow the seeds that bring that higher life into fruition. One cannot expect to reap what one does not sow; and merely hoping for a higher life is not sowing true spiritual seeds, any more than climbing an imagined mountain is the same as reaching its top.

To sow spiritual seeds means that we do spiritual work. Spiritual work is always interior work first, even if, as a matter of course, this work becomes manifest through exterior action. What is this interior work by which we sow the seeds of the celestial within us? Following are four ways to sow the seeds of a higher and happier life.

1. We must work to not burden others or ourselves with past regrets, disappointments, or fearful future visions, even as we learn to ask truth for more insight into those unseen aspects of our present nature that are reaping their regrets even as they sow more of the same dark seeds.

2. We must learn to sit quietly with ourselves and wait patiently for the light of God’s peace to replace those dark, noisy thoughts and feelings telling us that we have too much old baggage to make the journey home. Each time we sow these seeds through some quiet meditation, we reap the strength that comes from realizing that this silence that comes to us is our true home.

3. We must deliberately remember our intention to start our whole life over every moment we awaken to find ourselves reliving some past conflict. To cultivate this refreshed outlook, born of remembering that our true life is always new in the Now, is to let go of who we have been and to begin reaping a life free of anger and fear.

4. We must learn to look our fears, weariness, and anxiety directly in the eye, and instead of seeing what is impossible according to their view of life, sow the seeds of a new self by daring to doubt their dark view of things. Our refusal to identify with self-limiting negative states reaps us the reward of rising above their inherent limitations.

It is not enough to just sow seeds in this physical life, i.e., struggle for or make millions, invent the greatest gizmo ever, become the who’s who of some social registry, for regardless of how sublime these intentions first seem, and even if their seeds should grow and flourish, they can only grow into forms that pass and fall in time. If we wish a life that is whole and loving, one that is filled with new light, then we must sow these eternal seeds within ourselves; that is our work. Make your own list of ways to work at sowing the seeds of the higher life. Set your self to the task of being an inwardly awake person and watch how you begin to reap the awareness that makes all things possible.

(Excerpted from “Let Go and Live in the Now,” Red Wheel/Weiser)

4 Ways to Sow the Seeds of a Higher and Happier Life was last modified: March 12th, 2016 by Guy Finley

Want to know how free you really are? Good! You’re about to be presented with a unique opportunity to learn all about your individual level of inner liberty.

Assembled here for your self-study is a very special kind of test. But don’t worry! You can’t fail this examination. This test is unlike any you’ve ever taken before. It’s designed to help you gaze into yourself and then use what you see there as a gauge to help you determine your level of freedom. Here’s how it works.

Following are forty simple internal indicators for evaluating just how far along you actually are on freedom’s path. As you review each of the inner liberties on the list, just note mentally to yourself whether or not that particular freedom belongs to you. If you have to think about whether you’re free in one way or another, you’re probably not as free in that area as you’d give yourself to believe. Relax. This is to be expected. Which means let’s not forget our aim in this evaluation. Our intention is simply to learn what’s true about ourselves, not to prove anything to ourselves.

You may find some of the upcoming list surprising. If that happens, let it. And then feel free to consider you never knew such a freedom could exist for you because, up until now, you were sure you had no choice but to live restrained in this area. Now you know better! Allow these forty freedoms to awaken and stir that secret part of you that knows living in any kind of bondage is a lie. Then follow your own natural sensing all the way to the free life.

You’re Well Along Freedom’s Path When:

1. You have no desire to change places in life with anyone else.
2. You step over setbacks without stopping or looking back.
3. You don’t think about your sex life.
4. You accept and appreciate praise, but never take it to heart.
5. You don’t overeat or feel driven to diet.
6. You meet and do what’s true without fear of the consequences.
7. You really don’t want anything from anyone.
8. You stop thinking about how much money you may or may not have.
9. You don’t carry any upset from the last moment into the present one.
10. You have no interest in old resentments.
11. You start spending more time alone and enjoying it more.
12. You stop dreaming of the perfect vacation.
13. You lose all interest in trying to win mental arguments.
14. You’re neither frightened nor shocked by the evening news.
15. You stop making deals with yourself.
16. You dress for comfort, not for compliments.
17. You don’t blame anyone else for the way you feel.
18. You forget what it was you didn’t like about someone.
19. You’re awake to and spontaneously considerate of the needs of others.
20. You see beauty in life where you never could see it before.
21. Your life gets progressively simpler.
22. You see where you’re wrong sooner than later… and stop defending yourself faster.
23. You do what you don’t want to do, and you do it with a lighter spirit.
24. You’re not afraid of having nothing to say or do, if that’s your true condition.
25. You can take criticism without cringing away from the truth that it may hold.
26. You have no concern for what others may think of you.
27. You stop trying to make others see life in your way.
28. You enjoy the sound of silence as much or more than the sound of your own voice.
29. You see the same unpleasant traits within yourself that have made you shun others.
30. You say what you want, and not what you think others may want to hear you say.
31. You actually enjoy hearing about the good fortune of someone else.
32. You see more and more just how un-free you and others really are.
33. Your moods are fewer, lighter, and move on much quicker.
34. You see society is destroying itself and that the only solution is in self-change.
35. You can listen to others without the need to tell them what you know.
36. You don’t find a thrill in any kind of fear.
37. You know that forgiveness of others is the kindest thing you can do for yourself.
38. You realize the world is the way it is because you are the way you are.
39. You’d rather not think about yourself.
40. You can’t come up with one good reason why you should ever be anxious or frightened.

To help speed your inner progress, go back over the entire list of freedoms at least one more time. In your second review of these forty points of freedom, notice which ones are most attractive to you. Mark down their corresponding numbers on a sheet of paper.

For instance, as #27 points out, maybe you’re weary of being caught in that familiar losing battle of trying to make friends and family see life through your all-knowing eyes. It took a long time, but you’re beginning to see just how blind you’ve been. Now you want to be free of your own inconsiderate and impatient egotism. But try as you may, something within won’t let you let go of your unconscious certainty that you know better than anyone else. Good! You may not know it yet, but you’re drawing near a very special spiritual victory.

Or perhaps like #10 on the list suggests, maybe you sense how self-destructive it is to resent someone else. And you’re tired of being a slave to refueling your own burning mind. You want to be free of those internal, infernal fires. Again, that’s good. Now you know two important things…

1. You’re not as free as you would like to be.

2. Something is interfering with your wish to be free.

It may not seem so at first, but your new findings are a great start. Now keep going. Use this list and your discoveries to help you ignite your wish to be free. Then step back and welcome the spiritual firestorm. Watch as it burns away the ties that bind. This is what it means to let the Light fight for you.

(Excerpted from “Freedom From the Ties That Bind” by Guy Finley)

40 Ways to Determine Your Level of Inner Freedom was last modified: February 5th, 2016 by Guy Finley

What do we have to do to change the balance sheet of our lives so that for every measure of impatience and intolerance there may be at least an equivalent sum of compassion and consideration? How do we learn to use our relationships with others to realize a new kind of relationship with ourselves wherein we are able to discover that who we really are is all we need to be?

Your willingness to work your way through the twelve special practices of the following inner exercise — to strive to employ these higher ideals in your relationships with others — will reward you with the Real Life your heart longs for. The main thrust of these special practices is to show you how to use each developing moment in your relationships with family, friends, and coworkers to consciously change your relationship with yourself. Only a moment’s consideration will show us the wisdom of this unusual inner-work.

With few exceptions, the usual focus of our attention and interactions with others is centered on our self and the fulfillment of its desires. “How do I feel about you?” “What do I want from him?” or “When will she realize that I know best?” In other words, the mindset of the false self, under most circumstances, is: “Me first.” By forever placing its own considerations before considering any other, it remains the master of its own universe, even if all that revolves through it is its own imagined importance.

The great inner life lesson to be learned in working with the following twelve suggested practices is that what we put first in our lives is our first relationship with life. And it is this relationship that secretly determines the nature of all others in our lives. Through our willingness to work at placing our usual self in “second place,” we agree not only to change the way we see our relationships, but we have also agreed to be changed by the truths our new relationships will inevitably show us about us.

1. Be as alert to what you can do to help someone else in any given moment as you are critically aware of others for failing to notice your immediate needs.

2. Let anyone who wants to psychologically defeat you have his victory, and do it without revealing that you chose to give him the last word.

3. In any moment of consequence, be as willing to see that you may be wrong as you are convinced that you are always right.

4. Do whatever act of kindness you may be moved to do for another person without drawing attention to your deed, or to yourself for having done it.

5. Look for ways to make moments work to the advantage of someone else besides yourself.

6. When gathered with friends or family, instead of competing for the spotlight, voluntarily help to shine it on someone whom you know its light will emotionally lift or otherwise encourage.

7. Even when you know that you are solidly in the right, rather than rub it in, sacrifice your righteousness.

8. Should a sarcastic or unkind remark pop into your mind to tease, torment, or in any way “trash” another person, try swallowing it first to see how it tastes before you dish it out.

9. Whatever it might be when your “moment in the sun” arises — such as being acknowledged or applauded for a deed well done — if you have the choice, give the best or better portion away.

10. Let there be times when you don’t tell someone everything you know about her problem, even if your understanding of it is better than hers.

11. When feeling displeased with someone, don’t show your displeasure, and save any necessary correction for a later time.

12. There are times when the greatest strength (and kindness) one can possess is to allow another his weakness without pointing it out or otherwise punishing him for it.

Just a few last thoughts about this exercise to take with you: Remember that all spiritual practices are a means to self-discovery, and that discouragement, or any form of frustration, are secret indicators of some end we have in mind that has been thwarted. Lastly, keep in mind that everything true we discover about ourselves enlarges our relationship with life, and that there is no end to these relationships… just as Real Life is endless.

(Excerpted from “Seeker’s Guide to Self-Freedom” by Guy Finley)

12 Practical Exercises to Enlarge Your Relationship with Real Life was last modified: January 23rd, 2016 by Guy Finley

We human beings are born with an indefinable longing to grow beyond ourselves, to penetrate and illuminate the mysterious depths of our own heart. The ideal and pursuit of perfection is literally seeded into our soul; it pervades our very being. Our longing to walk among the stars does not seem out of reach; the wish to be eternal goes with us everywhere. In more down-to-earth terms, if we wish to live without resentments that linger in our hearts and rid ourselves of fear with all of its debilitating limitations, we must shed the skin of our selfishness. We must learn what it means to consciously suffer ourselves without complaint and have compassion even toward those with whom we disagree.

Nothing can stop us from receiving the Niagara Falls of celestial impressions whose light not only serves to reveal the still in the dark character of our undeveloped nature, but also pours into us, all that is needed to evolve beyond it. Now all we need is to learn — and practice — the specialized part we must play in our own transformation.

Say that we’ve worked hard to be more aware of ourselves in the Now, and that for this effort we catch a glimpse of how quick we are to judge others, to criticize them for their “failings.” This pain that strains us — and those we touch with it — is itself a creation of a false sense of our own perfection. But our awareness of its punishing presence within us is the same as our invitation to transcend the negative nature that is responsible for it. So, if we want to realize the higher level of Self that reveals the need for further transformation, then we have work to do. We must actualize this new level of ourselves by acting from our new understanding in a whole different way.

In each instance where we see that we still have more to understand about ourselves, we must use our lives to become a living example of those qualities of character that we need to learn. In other words, in order to transcend what we have seen as limiting us, we must teach, by example, what we would further understand.

Following are four ways to teach the truths that transform the world we live in, even as we ourselves are transformed by our own actions. It is vital for us to remember that these suggested practices are designed to help us achieve an enhanced spiritual balance in ourselves, even as, through these same actions, we teach others around us about the possibility of living from a whole new order of self-understanding.

1. We teach others when we do not react in alarm to some potentially frightening news or event. The world around us receives the lesson that those events — in themselves — do not have the power to make or break the awakened soul. Our lesson — if we will teach it — is to see that we need not ride along on our own three-alarm nature that loves getting set off.

2. We teach others when they can see us laugh at our own mistakes. The world around us receives the lesson that there is a big difference between making a mistake and thinking of oneself as being a mistake. Our lesson — if we will teach it — is to see that any compulsive wish to be seen as perfect in the eyes of the world is a punishment that can never be a part of our true peace and contentment.

3. We teach others around us when we won’t give voice to complaint. The world around us receives the lesson that there are superior ways to handle times of discomfort or disappointment that do not include expressing negative emotions. Our lesson — if we will teach it — is to see that we can use passing dark states to awaken to and realize an interior wisdom that knows how to use everything for its own growth.

4. We teach others whenever we refuse to psychologically defend ourselves — be this against simple sarcasm or even vicious slander. The world around us receives the lesson that what is true needs no defense and that what is false cannot be defended. Our lesson — if we will teach it — is the realization that people only feel the need to attack what frightens them and that we need never live in fear of any frightened person.

Our real spiritual development is under invisible laws: To grow, we must learn. To learn, we must teach. To teach we must lead. To lead, we must make mistakes. Making mistakes tills the ground of us, making it receptive to new and higher lessons, and thus the positive spiral completes itself, even as it rises above its original starting point.

Take these suggested exercises and work with them to teach the truths that transform the world around and within you. Make up your own exercises based on the lessons you know that life is asking you to learn. Always strive to remember that anything we work to change in ourselves cannot help but change everything. What can be more promising than that?

(Excerpted from “Let Go and Live in the Now,” Red Wheel/Weiser)

4 Ways to Teach the Truths that Transform the World was last modified: December 29th, 2015 by Guy Finley

Making mistakes in life is one of its inevitabilities, as it’s impossible to transcend any individual limitation without first agreeing to meet it. Such encounters are the path we must walk if our wish is to fulfill whatever may be our Divinely dispensed possibilities.

However, the more awake we can be, the more mindful of the whole of ourselves we are before we start moving toward any aim in life, the less likely we are to find ourselves feeling stressed, angry, or fearful over where we end up.

Use the following twenty-one unseen blessings of being mindful to help you realize just how nice it would be to see a pit before you fall into it!

1. If I were mindful, I would never be in a rush…even if I had to move quickly.

2. If I were mindful, I couldn’t leave a mess behind me, let alone create one for someone else to clean up.

3. If I were mindful, I couldn’t be tempted into making the same mistake repeatedly, let alone believe in the sense of regret that always follows.

4. If I were mindful, I wouldn’t have to talk to myself for any reason, let alone explain or justify myself for whatever may have just happened.

5. If I were mindful, I could never say something cruel to anyone, anywhere, for any reason.

6. If I were mindful, I would never judge those around me, let alone myself.

7. If I were mindful, I would be consciously aware of anything I take into myself… whether some kind of food, my own thoughts and feelings, or the emanations of others.

8. If I were mindful, I would lose all fascination with talking about myself.

9. If I were mindful, I would know – without having to think about it – the general, if not the specific inner state of anyone around me.

10. If I were mindful, I could never be made to act impulsively.

11. If I were mindful, I would have no need, whatsoever, to put on any kind of pretense.

12. If I were mindful, I would be able to use the negative manifestation of others for a highly positive purpose.

13. If I were mindful, I would know the difference between wants and needs.

14. If I were mindful, I couldn’t be brought to blame any other person for my pain.

15. If I were mindful, I would know the difference between useful and useless conversations.

16. If I were mindful, I would never embrace, let alone be convinced to hang on to a fear or worry.

17. If I were mindful, I could listen to others without having to inject something about myself.

18. If I were mindful, neither the imagined joy, nor the sorrow of some tomorrow would hold any attraction for me.

19. If I were mindful, I wouldn’t misplace things, let alone my sense of self.

20. If I were mindful, there would be no interest in – or need for – psychologically defending myself.

21. If I were mindful, I would enjoy an effortless sense of gratitude and reverence for life.

So the question is: Given these 21 blessings of being mindful… why in the name of all that is Good, Holy, and Divine do we not place being mindful before all other pursuits? And shouldn’t we dedicate our lives to being as perfectly mindful as it is possible for us to be?

Answer these two questions in the affirmative, act accordingly, and all unseen blessings will be yours. To ignore them is to turn your back on yourself and — with your inner eyes thus closed — to walk in ever-smaller circles, going nowhere but down.

The 21 Unseen Blessings of Being Mindful was last modified: December 15th, 2015 by Guy Finley

“I know it’s a mistake looking to someone else for a sense of myself. I really do. But what I don’t understand is why this need for approval runs so deep and so strong. I’ve heard lots of theories, but what I’d really like now is some insight into how I can keep from giving myself away?”

Before we can clear away the invisible obstacles blocking our path to self-possession, we must first understand their real nature. An honest admission of our present condition gives us an excellent place to start. We seek the approval of others because as long as we think someone else feels good about us, it allows us to feel that way about ourselves as well.

“Well, what could be wrong with that?”

It may help if we look at this confusing condition from a slightly different angle. Let’s see if the way in which we look at ourselves through the eyes of another still sounds as pleasing after we place our new perspective into the form of a probing question: What good is any feeling we may have about ourselves, if it only lasts as long as others agree to it?

“Yes, I see what you mean. There’s certainly a lot more to this issue of seeking approval than meets the eye. What else do I need to know to set myself free?”

Looking for ourselves in the eyes of others throws us behind the walls of a psychic prison. The door slams shut each time we find ourselves feeling good about ourselves simply because someone has given us a needed nod of approval. Let’s investigate this strange sequence of psychological events that leaves us in a prison of our own making.

Whenever someone approves of us, it gives us a feeling we like. These silent emotions tell us that we’re good, wanted, or in some way important. But the real pleasure in these sensations is that it secretly serves to strengthen the way we want to feel about ourselves, that we’re worth being cared about, and that our existence has meaning.

“But what’s wrong with those feelings?”

If these positive emotions were the true end of a happy story, there wouldn’t be a problem… but they’re never the end. At the same satisfying moment of our being unconsciously identified with this feeling of being approved, something else is happening to us deep within our own uninvestigated nature.

As our approval-provided feeling of self-worth starts to fade, which all such feelings do, we begin feeling as though we too are about to fade away! But, if we could only see behind these feelings of fading back into obscurity, what we’d see is that our feelings of self-worth aren’t really disappearing at all. They’re only going through a state of flux, a psychic transformation that turns these once-pleasing emotions into their own undesirable opposites.

Now, the same feelings that had confirmed us only moments before become a source of misgiving, internally questioning us as to our own importance. So we start to worry. Maybe we’re no longer needed? Maybe no one loves us? And as this vicious, invisible, psychological process moves towards its inevitable conclusion, we begin feeling a subtle form of fear, a distant dread.

We’ve all felt that unpleasant inner pressure of a brewing anxiety. It heralds the coming of insecurity and self-doubt, in much the same way as distant thunder warns of an approaching storm. And the stirring of this first dark wave within carries an unspoken message on its winds. It warns us of a serious loss of some kind if we don’t do something right away to shore ourselves up.

“How true! And so we go out looking for approval all over again! No wonder we never break free from this approval seeking business. But what can we do? Is there no way out?”

Yes, there is a way. You must act on our new knowledge.

“What do you mean? What should I do?”

Your new actions won’t be so much what you do as what you don’t do. Here’s the bottom line drawn out for you in three points, followed by an important summary which also includes a special instruction and encouragement.

Never again go looking to another human being for his or her approval.

Never again fawn over anyone to show that you’re on his or her side.

Never again exchange your smile in the hope that someone who is capable of betraying you, won’t.

Summary and Instruction: Face your fear of disappearing, without doing anything about it …. and something will disappear. But it won’t be you.

The only thing that will fade from view will be your own fear of fading. And, as it disappears, what appears in its place, right before your inner eyes, will be the you you’ve been looking for in all the wrong places!

This is the real beginning of having your own life, of being your own person. Only this time your sense of yourself is coming to you from reality itself. And this is the only approval you’ll ever need, the only one that never fades.

“There’s still one thing I’m not sure about. How can it be wrong to want or enjoy the approval and respect of my peers?”

Winning approval and respect from others and wanting it have very little in common. When we’re willing to go the extra mile – to be or to do what is true, especially if there’s a personal cost attached to it – others see our sacrifice and their approval is a spontaneous reaction to seeing excellence in action. Enjoyment of this kind of approval is both natural and non-binding.

But, if our initial wish is to attract attention or applause, then we’re doing what we’re doing for all the wrong reasons. Then we have neither good works, nor respect. Approval may be awarded, but never sought. The approval we seek makes us debtors of our own fearful feelings – and of whomever makes us temporarily forget these fears.

(Excerpted from “Freedom From the Ties That Bind” by Guy Finley)

Make The Fear Of Being “No One” Fade Away was last modified: November 28th, 2015 by Guy Finley

You will never be alone in your quest for real life as long as you put your love for truth before all else.

To ensure your progress is sure and steady on the upper path, here is the perfect prescription to ensure that you have a profitable spiritual life.

Welcome these five truth lessons into your mind and watch how their refreshing view of reality leads you to that unconditional freedom for which your heart longs.

To weigh the value of what this world can reward us with, we need only remove the scales from our eyes, for were we willing to measure how many times we have fallen victim to a world that promises us victory but that leaves us a victim, then we would know just how hollow is the hope of finding treasure in a bottomless basket.

If common social convention — with all its contrivance and hypocrisy — has one redeeming value, it is this: the happy day may come when we realize that too much of our time has been spent conversing with cleverly disguised thieves, listening to and believing in the plans of liars, and trusting in the promises of people who are, by majority, incapable of a single act of integrity. This day of our awakening is the same as the delightful date of our departure from a bankrupt world filled with beggars dressed as kings and queens.

Billions give their lives away for a moment’s pleasure or the promise of approval. They sacrifice their happiness in the hope that by acquiring power they can make their world a prettier place in the face of all the ugliness that these same pursuits create. The few and the true also give their lives away — in acts of quiet selflessness that naturally follow the footsteps of those who have preceded them on the upward path.

For anyone with ears to hear, there is but one question and one answer: will we wait patiently for a single moment of relationship with what is eternal and real — where, with the touch of something timeless, all the moments of our life are forever changed? Otherwise we waste the few moments of our life chasing the pleasure of an imagined time to come that forever recedes from our grasp in the same instant that we reach for it.

No one can say no to this world who is afraid to walk through it alone. The unseen cost of this baseless fear is not just ending up in the company of cowards but that one may lose the possibility of ever coming to know the company of the Divine.

Until the peace and pleasure found within yourself is equal to or greater than any consolation found outside of yourself, then your power to be patient, loving, and profitable in every moment is, at best, conditional. Nothing better serves to sustain anger, frustration, and fear than being identified with a level of self whose life is founded, at best, upon the sands of passing circumstances.

(Excerpted from The Secret of Your Immortal Self, Llewellyn Worldwide)

A Sure Prescription for a Profitable Spiritual Life was last modified: May 16th, 2015 by Guy Finley

We can all see that pretending to be strong just doesn’t work. From our own experience with pretense we’ve learned that, eventually, life calls our bluff and we’re revealed to be unequal to the challenge. And who hasn’t suffered from believing in the pretend strength of others?

Most people want very much to be strong, but they do not seem to be able to find the real strength they yearn for. Instead, they find qualities that pass themselves off as strength, but secretly leave them feeling weak. Here are some examples of false strength:

Lashing out in anger when frustrated

Demanding that we are right

Blaming someone else for causing the problem

Being loud and intimidating, or cold and critical

Feeling confident because of any contrived appearance

By contrast, here are some examples of real strength:

Remaining calm in a crisis

Never feeling the need to prove ourselves to anyone

Seeking to solve the problem rather than placing blame

Enjoying self-command regardless of uncertain circumstances

Seeing all setbacks as necessary steps to higher success

What a different kind of life would be led by someone who displayed the qualities in the second list as compared to the first. It is possible for any of us to achieve that different kind of life, but only in proportion to our willingness to see the difference between real and false strength. Our growing understanding of the difference is key, for it brings about an inner change that puts us in an entirely new relationship with life.

You will grow weary with your own idea of strength with its accompanying false excitement. You will gladly sacrifice it so that you may experience a higher wisdom that will be strong for you. What relief you will feel in coming into the real self-command of realizing you never had to be strong at all in the way you always thought you did.

(Excerpted from The Intimate Enemy by Guy Finley)

How to Always Come Out Stronger was last modified: March 13th, 2015 by Guy Finley

Unconscious self-superiority keeps itself in place through a process of resisting what it imagines it isn’t like, but by the fact of the negative reaction proves its unseen likeness. Shakespeare said, “Methinks thou dost protest too much,” because he was pointing out that what we most strongly deny in another is what we unconsciously recognize in ourselves.

The first step in harmonious relationships is simple: We need only realize the spiritual truth that we cannot meet someone whom we are not like in some way, even if we don’t actively express what we don’t like seeing in him or her. The deception is that we’re sure we’re unlike everyone except for those who match the images we have of ourselves. And so it goes that we live from — see our lives through — the eyes of a certain false sense of “I” that always resists anyone seen as being “not like I am.” But love cannot grow where resistance rules.

We have not been given this precious life in order to go through it resisting everything that doesn’t suit us; rather we are created to grow through whatever we meet along the way. When we resist what others show us about ourselves, we close the door on the possibility of transcending the undiscovered parts of us that are troubled by them. Freedom is not found by avoiding what disturbs us, but by illuminating — realizing and releasing — whatever may dwell in the dark of us that can be disturbed.

Now just so we’re clear on this, there are plenty of unpleasant people. Our world is packed with them! But, given the negative effect of resenting others, and the fact that (for now) all we know to do towards those who disturb us is to resist them, could it be that when it comes to our human relationships we have been blinded to one of the main reasons for them? The answer is “yes.”

Just as the wind moves through a tree and carries its pollen to the blossoms of another tree, our relationships are intended to help “pollinate” the soul so that true understanding of why we are here on earth can flower within it. We grow through our relationships with life, which means that through them we are shown possibilities about ourselves we never knew existed. To exclude any of these discoveries is to deny ourselves the truth of ourselves, something the Truth within us would never do.

We need a new intention in all of our relationships, something like this: “I will not suffer you; instead I will work to be increasingly conscious of us, suffering what I must for the sake of both of us. I will not cast you out as being something inferior to myself; I will not do that because I can’t recognize in you anything as being an inferior condition in you unless I have it in myself.”

This inner exercise is good for any negative reaction we may have towards the unwanted manifestations of others. It disarms the lie of the “superior” self by effectively cancelling its corrupting power to produce the illusion that we are different from the people we resist.

Our work, if we’re willing, is to catch that surging separation called “you are different from me.” And then, in that same moment, to apply our new understanding that cancels this unconscious act of resistance. Instead we embrace the realization that “you” and “I” are both exposed in this God-given moment that God meant for the purpose of transcending ourselves.

(Excerpted from The Essential Laws of Fearless Living by Guy Finley, Red Wheel/Weiser)

Love Cannot Grow Where Resistance Rules was last modified: December 31st, 2014 by Guy Finley

Has something within ever told you that “good captains” go down with the ship… suffering the fate of their ship, regardless of the consequences to their soul?

That sinking sensation of being all alone, that dreaded feeling of inadequacy, those worried fearful thoughts… none of them, not a single one of them is your ship! Yes, the feel is real, but the why is a lie. The only way anyone would ever agree to be defined by such dark thoughts is if he was suffering from a kind amnesia. Living in this state of spiritual sleep is the same as unconsciously identifying with whatever “uniform” one finds oneself wearing in any given moment — for instance the uniform of:

1. The one who is a perpetual victim

2. The one unable to get a break

3. The one too weak to walk away from what is wrecking you

4. The one who remains in a place clearly wrong for you, but who stays there for fear of finding yourself somewhere worse

Perhaps you can add other false identities to this list, but here’s the main point: each codependent relation-“ship” in which we find ourselves also finds us decked out in the appropriate “uniform” for that role. And with each of these false identities comes the false sense of duty that one must be true to it, even though it may lead to one’s destruction.

These familiar, but totally unconscious roles we play — born from false images formed in us over time — outweigh even common good sense. Our original intelligence is buried beneath an alluring sense of self-importance, induced in us by having unconsciously identified with a fictitious sense of self. And once deceived as such, our story, including its inevitable outcome, is all but written for us. We’re left with no other conclusion: “I am the captain, I must adhere to a captain’s duty,” and down we go with the ship!

We must wake up and remember our True Identity, our True Self. For us this means — at the outset, anyway — working to become conscious of what amounts to a consensual relationship with what obviously compromises our best interests.

More than just being complicit in a destructive relationship with someone, or caught in a vicious cycle of substance abuse, we must also agree to see how our fear of what others may think of us makes us fawn before them; or how we think ourselves into some form of daily despair by constantly measuring ourselves against others who seem more successful or happy than we are.

The new and higher understanding we need — to leap from our present state of dependency to one of greater independence — is inseparable from an awareness of our True Self. Only in its presence, by its will, are we empowered to see, remember, and to act upon what we now know is true: any part of us that accepts, as inevitable, some punishing state is also its perpetrator… which means it is not the “friend-in need” and protector it pretends to be! The light of this insight is the same as the power we need to see through, and then let go of what is our “enemy in deed.”

It may seem difficult at first, but to see that nothing real stands between you and your wish to be free is the first step towards winning the independence for which you long. The parts of you that “believe” in your inadequacy, in your inability to make meaningful changes in your life, are also the same ones that send you out looking for solutions to the very suffering they engender. It’s time to stop believing in any nature that, on one hand, tells you there’s no recourse other than to live in the cage of codependency it creates, while its other hand points to a “time when” conditions will be right and then you’ll be free.

(Excerpted from Breaking Dependency by Guy Finley)

Remember Your True Identity and Realize Self-Liberation was last modified: October 28th, 2014 by Guy Finley

You can’t change the kind of person you are later. There is no later. It’s always now or never. You can’t be kind later. And you can’t learn later. Choose to change now, and that moment will never come for you to worry about how to be better next time. Why? Because your conscious choice for real change in the present moment automatically cancels the need for a better you in a better future. All will be better for you now, which is the only time it really matters!

Each day presents countless opportunities for you to be free now. Learning how to use these moments leads to real inner change, which is the same as being in command of your own destiny. Following is a list of five of the many ways to remember that now is always the time to:

1. Follow What You Love

Put what you love first. The rest of your life will take care of itself because love always finds a way. Love never considers fear. And with love as your guide, your success in life is assured since its nature is already the perfect prize. Follow what you love. You’re sure to find a happy heart.

2. Do What Is True Regardless Of The Consequences

Choosing what is true in spite of fearing what that choice may cost you is the same as giving yourself a fearless life. Here’s why: Nothing you’re afraid of losing can ever be the source of your fearlessness. Do what’s true regardless of the consequences. All you can lose is fear.

3. Jump Into The Battle

True strength is the flower of wisdom, but its seed is action. To learn, you must jump into the battle. Fear not. You can’t be hurt in this fight. Any weakness voluntarily met is the same as greeting a greater strength. Never let a fearful thought keep you from this new strength. Enter the battle now!

Drop any thought or action that creates conflict in the present moment for the promise of a better feeling to come. Your true nature is now. There is no later. You can’t be divided and be content. Choose to be whole. Begin by consciously refusing to compromise yourself.

5. Start Your Life All Over

Any time you choose, you can start your whole life over. And you can have just as many new beginnings as you’re willing to leave behind you all of your ideas about yourself. That’s what it means to start all over. Life can only be as new as you choose to be. Wake up. Start your life over now…

But even if there seem to be times when you can’t succeed with starting your life over, keep this one truth in mind: You can always start over again. The time to change your destiny is now!

In one way, it’s hard to say what has happened to the health of our world and the people upon it, not that suitable terms don’t exist. The problem is that whatever picture one paints with words, it points only to a single part of the story, and we’re left with an incomplete understanding of the situation. History proves, along with personal experience, that whenever our understanding of a problem is incomplete, its effect is to breed conflict. Then, blame becomes the solution and inevitably war breaks out — first on a personal, and then on a planetary level.

This global digression is evident in the deteriorating conditions taking place around us. Everywhere we see the gradual loss of even common kindness amongst ourselves; we watch as social, economic, and environmental problems steadily worsen for our refusal to deal with them.

What we don’t see is that all these issues have a common root: we have all but forgotten the purpose of our being on earth. Not only have we lost the way, but also the will to know the truth of ourselves. And, out of this incomplete understanding of ourselves grows a slowly deepening state of spiritual sleep, not unlike a ball bouncing down a set of steps: false purposes produce false desires; false desires cannot be satisfied. The ensuing sense of limitation creates greed — from whose suffering no one escapes, including those who have amassed the most of our world’s goods.

What can be done about this? In truth, much; but we must be wise. We need to realize that what needs to be changed begins with us, as individuals. In short, we must stop trying to change the world we see, and begin the inner work of changing the way in which we see the world. A change needs to take place at the very core of our nature, one that affects the way in which we relate to life.

This transformation of our interior person does not take place by a simple change in the way we think. Our perception, itself, must be “reborn” — as every other solution to our suffering has failed to provide lasting results. It’s clear: we will not be able to think our way out of a “prison” that our thinking has produced. Besides, thought is basically the servant of the desire, created by it over millennia to facilitate the mind’s need to recognize and describe the sensory world it perceives. As such, thought is powerless to change the content of itself, let alone the reality that it reflects upon. Something “new” needs to be awakened within us that isn’t habituated, and that can’t be conditioned.

Whenever you come upon a healing idea or a rescuing truth, it is almost always a surprise that you could have missed something that was so obvious for so long. Do you know the feeling? More than anything else, a glimpse of a Timeless Truth is a lot like rounding a bend and suddenly seeing something you know you knew a long, long time ago; like discovering all over again a special place you once loved.

You can’t explain it but these out-of-the-blue higher moments seem as much a trusted memory as they do a gateway to a new and exciting understanding. Our life is intended to be filled with magical moments such as these. Settling for anything less is an unseen compromise that suffers the Spirit. This is why the real successes in life are more an awakening than they are an arrival at a thrilling but temporary destination. Let the following short story stir you to remember something your true nature has never forgotten.

It seemed he had been walking for a very long time. But even more than his weary legs he was aware of his hands. They were starting to feel like they were part of the bags he was carrying.

“This is no better,” he thought to himself, as he tried to shift some of the baggage’s weight from one aching part of his hands to another. He wished he could put them all down, but he was in a hurry.

It was hard to believe that only a few hours had passed since he had run into that nice man selling bags along side the road. The bag-seller had promised him that buying one of his bags would make carrying all of the other bags a lot easier. But, as he walked along, he could think of a lot of other words to describe what the addition of this new bag had done for him. “Easier” certainly wasn’t one of them. And this wasn’t the first bag he had been sold along the road. Not by any means.

As he looked down at his stiffening arms and hands, it seemed to him as though every bag he was carrying had been guaranteed for one thing or another. He had a bag of plans for the future; a bag that held keys to success; a bag of miscellaneous kits for repairing the past; and then there was the heaviest bag of all: The one that was supposed to keep all of his other bags safe. The truth was he owned a bag for just about everything imaginable.

So involved was he in assessing and reassessing the value of all of his bags that he didn’t even notice the stranger sitting in the shade off to the side of the road. In fact, it was the stranger’s voice that made him look up from his bags. The stranger smiled.

“That’s quite a load you’ve got there. Care to sit a while and take a break?”

The notion surprised him for some reason but it sounded like a good idea. “Thanks,” he said, “I think I will.” And he sat his bags down, one by one, lined up according to their size. A moment or two passed without either of them speaking, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. The grass was soft and just damp enough to feel good. The only thing strange was that he noticed the stranger didn’t have any bags with him at all. Not one. To the best of his recollection this was a first. All of the men and women he had met along the road carried some kind of bag. How could he survive? What kind of person was this? How did he meet the challenges of the road? His mind started racing with one silent question after another, but he knew it would be too impolite to say anything. He couldn’t believe his own ears when the words jumped out of his mouth.

“I see you don’t have any bags.”

The stranger smiled back at the man. “No, that’s right.”

The man waited for further explanation but none came. Finally the silence became too heavy. “Why not?” he asked.

The stranger had heard many questions like his before from other travelers he had met along the way. Experience had long taught him that most of these questions placed before him by others — as to why he traveled so lightly — were not asked in order to hear his answer. No. Most only feigned interest. What they were really seeking was a way to tell him their view on the subject. But he sensed that this weary man across from him was different from the rest. And so he answered him with the truth.

“One day, years ago, I was taking a break in a shady spot just like this one when a familiar voice spoke to me. I knew I had heard that voice at least a thousand times before and yet, right up to that moment, I had never really heard it.”

The stranger seemed to look off into the past but he kept talking. “It was strange, because the voice just kept saying over and over again, ‘I’m so tired, how much further do we have to go?’ That’s all — just, ‘I’m so tired’ and ‘how much further?'”

“Who were you with?” the man asked.

“No one,” the stranger replied and looked back at him with a deep kind of self-conscious smile. “I was all by myself. And I don’t know why I should have taken notice of it just then, but that’s when it happened. I realized that for as many years as I cared to remember, I had been talking to myself about how tired I was.”

The stranger’s answer came as an unexpected shock. He wanted to pity this empty-handed man but instead he was drawn to him and to what he was saying. His silence was the invitation for the stranger to continue talking.

“At first I tried to push my sorry realization away by thinking about another bag I had always wanted. But by this time I was even tired of those feelings. I didn’t know what else to do so I just sat there. I can’t really say for how long. And then it came to me.” The stranger smiled again and the man thought that maybe he had missed something. But if he had, the stranger didn’t pause long enough for him to ask. “It wasn’t so much that I didn’t feel like going anywhere as it was I had realized, while sitting there, that for all of my years on the road I had never really known where I was going. Only until that day I never knew that I didn’t know because, for all of those same years on the road, I had come to believe that my search for relief was the same as having a direction in life.”

“But why were you seeking relief; I mean, what from?”

“That’s the crazy thing,” the stranger said starting to laugh quietly to himself as if he had heard a good joke. “I was looking for relief from all the baggage I was carrying — bags that were supposed to make my walk through life an enjoyable one!”

Now they both laughed the good laugh like two old friends who were in on a private joke. The warmth of their shared understanding was still there when the man broke in. “But where are your bags now?”

“That’s the whole point,” replied the stranger still with a smile on his face. “Don’t you see? If I didn’t know where I was going then how could I possibly know what I needed to get me there?” It was his eyes that asked for a reply.

“Right,” the man said before he knew it.

“So then, why on earth was I carrying all of those bags? The truth is that I couldn’t come up with any good answer so I just left them right there where I had been sitting.”

“Well, what happened next? Where did you go? How did your life change?”

The stranger’s look stopped his flood of questions. “It took some time but gradually I began to see that it wasn’t so much my life that was changing as it was that my view of life had changed. Without the burden of all of the bags I had been carrying I started seeing life as a wonderful place to be instead of a task to go through.”

The man could sense the truth in the stranger’s words and he wanted more explanation. “A wonderful place to be?”

“Yes.” The stranger started to get up and brushed the leaves from his pants. “For one thing, I found that I was always right where I wanted to be once I stopped making myself miserable for not being where I thought I should be.” He looked directly at the man. “The truth is, you don’t need to be who you think you have to be. Therefore, you don’t have to carry those things through life you think you need to make you that person.” And with that the stranger said, “See you later,” and started walking away.

The man bolted to his feet, “Where are you going?”

The stranger didn’t reply but he wasn’t rude.

The man looked down at the long line of his heavy bags and looked back up at the light step of the stranger as he walked down the road. It only took another second for him to make up his mind. “Wait for me!”

Think of all the things you feel as though you need to carry through your life in order to keep your life going according to the way you think it should go. Now think how nice it would be to let go of all of that.

(Excerpted from The Secret of Letting Go, Llewellyn Publishing)

Walk Lightly Through Life was last modified: June 6th, 2014 by Guy Finley

Part of our work to let go and live in the Light of Now requires new self-knowledge. Consider the following: Our lives are a part of a perpetual and perfect balance whose invisible power governs all things. This idea is as timeless as it is true. The fabric of our universe is a delicate weave of primordial opposites whose ever-changing expression gives rise to existence as we know it. We are given the eyes to see a ceaseless expression of active and passive forces pressing their way into our essence, where they make their passing impressions.

But what we have yet to realize is the actual nature of these celestially prompted longings that push us along to fulfill the promise of our higher nature. The truth is that these forces serve us as both a disturbance and an invitation; they are one and the same, cosmic opposites of a sort that, once realized as such, reveal the path back home to our True Self. A common example will help us understand how and why these celestial energies work as they do within us.

Whenever we feel the onset of a thirst, this physical sensation invites us to seek for something that will quench it. Now consider the way that we thirst for the truth of ourselves. But this celestial need of ours — in all of its various forms — never stops pouring down into us from the heights of our own True Nature. This call to a higher consciousness may be denied, but it can never be driven from our soul. We must ask: what do we possess with the power to answer these invisible promptings from which we cannot escape?

We are created with the capability of realizing the timeless truth of ourselves, which includes being empowered to use — to release or transform — all the conflicting forces that are woven into the path of the upward Way. Nothing can stop us from receiving that Niagara Falls of celestial impressions whose light not only serves to reveal the still in the dark character of our undeveloped nature, but also pours into us, all that is needed to evolve beyond it. Now all we need is to learn — and practice — the specialized part we must play in our own transformation.

First, in order to rightly receive these vital impressions that are a prerequisite for becoming conscious of the life lessons they bring in their tow, we must learn what it means to be rightly passive in the Now. To understand this important spiritual principle, think of what it would mean to receive life without pre-determined demands upon what you will or won’t accept as it unfolds. This state of impersonal conscious awareness is referred to in Eastern wisdom traditions as having one’s mind polished like a mirror — perfectly passive to all that passes into and through its consciousness, a silent witness to whatever life reveals. This conscious compliance with a broader reality is the first of two vital stages we must actualize within us if we would transform both ourselves and the world in which we live.

The second stage needed for our transformation — after the passive ground of us has been seeded with what we have observed within us — requires we become active. We have received, now we must give. The opposites must be united within us by our own conscious efforts. For instance, say we’ve worked hard to be more aware of ourselves in the Now, and that for this effort we catch a glimpse of how quick we are to judge others, to criticize them for their “failings.” This pain that strains us — and those we touch with it — is itself a creation of a false sense of our own perfection. But our awareness of its punishing presence within us is the same as our invitation to transcend the negative nature that is responsible for it. So, if we want to realize the higher level of Self that reveals the need for further transformation, then we have work to do. We must actualize this new level of ourselves by acting from our new understanding in a whole different way.

In each instance where we see that we still have more to understand about ourselves, we must use our lives to become a living example of those qualities of character that we need to learn. In other words, in order to transcend what we have seen as limiting us, we must teach, by example, what we would further understand.

Until we realize that all the influences that act upon us and set the stage for our various life lessons are really just secret reflections of some undetected imbalance in us, which are asking for correction, none of these impressions can be truly received, nor the lessons behind them rightfully learned. These wide ranging inner impressions, along with the often-challenging life lessons that appear with them, are not created to punish us. They exist to help temper our soul’s character, to help us learn to integrate the many conflicting opposites within us. In each instance we emerge from one order of Self into a new nature, whose being is greater than the sum of those unconscious tendencies now united within it.

So you see, it is not enough to just passively receive these special lessons. We must act upon their revelations and further clarify their import. This is why our willingness to teach for the purpose of learning is every bit as important as is our willingness to learn what we must in order to grow.

Our real spiritual development is under invisible laws: To grow, we must learn. To learn, we must teach. To teach we must lead. To lead, we must make mistakes. Making mistakes tills the ground of us, making it receptive to new and higher lessons, and thus the positive spiral completes itself, even as it rises above its original starting point.

It’s well known that storm-tossed waves often expose new treasures along the shoreline; there is unexpected wealth to be collected by those who know the secret value of rough seas. And yet, even though most of us have little tolerance for anything that “rocks our boat,” the truth of the matter is self-evident:

Unwanted moments introduce us to parts of ourselves that would otherwise never get healed were it not for the difficulties that first reveal them and that lead us to release their pain.

When things go “badly” for us, we’re not intended to “return” to who and what we have been. To see the good in this idea, we must be willing to see that the pain in unwanted moments can either be a rock into which we crash time and time again — a tempest without termination — or that same suffering can be used as an inflection point, a place of real change that exists only when all seems lost.

Let me share three ideas with you about this strange and wonderful kind of spiritual goodness that seems to arrive in a package marked: “Caution! Contents under pressure!” Welcome this light into your life and you will learn to exchange resistance to unwanted moments for being receptive to the lessons they bring with them. Soon you will know, without taking thought, the greatest secret in the universe:

All things good come to those for whom the Good is all things.

1. Even though we may feel badly when we lose whatever we hold near and dear to ourselves, it is good to see that nothing in this world — or that we can imagine — is permanent. Learning to welcome events that foster this understanding helps liberate us from painful attachments to relationships, possessions, and of course, our own bodies. What follows is freedom from all forms of false dependency and their attending fears.

2. Even though we may feel badly when our sense of self-worth is shaken by events, it is good to see in these experiences that any sense of Self derived through images, social powers, acclaim, or peer approval is not who we really are. Learning to welcome events that reveal this truth helps free us from the impossible task of trying to be all things to all people and strengthens our intention to realize our unshakable original Self.

3. Even though we may feel badly when we run into a limitation of some kind, it is good to see that, apart from the certainty behind our own pressing demands on life, nothing else stands in our way. Learning to welcome events that illuminate this new understanding reveals two key lessons about limitless living: The more we resist seeing our own limitations, the greater they become! And when we realize this truth, we see that limitations are illusions: They exist only for as long as we resist going through what we must to prove them false.

There is an old proverb that goes something like this: “God never takes anything from us without giving us something greater in return.” The task for those of us who seek the life divine — those who seek to live from their original fearless Self — is to prove the trust of this timeless idea. Through it, we are set free.

Every relationship that we have in our life — our contact with each person, place, and event — serves a very special, if yet to be realized purpose: they are a mirror that can serve to show us things about ourselves that can be realized in no other way. I think this is one of the reasons that so many of us love to share in the life of Mother Nature, for she brings us lessons in a classroom like no other. Many times, without our even knowing it, she reveals some celestial secret that sits within us, like a seed, that will only stir and rise into our consciousness when we least want to be disturbed. And yet, the flowering of this higher self-understanding brings with it a new kind of freedom that can be realized in no other way.

Comes the fall, particularly nearer its end, the ground on the little mountain top where I live is literally golden brown with all of the oak leaves that have parted ways with their seasonal parents.

It’s so beautiful to watch the thousands of leaves fall like slow motion snowflakes… finding their way to the forest floor and their temporary resting place there; then come the late October, early November winds, and all the leaves are off to the races; like a large gathering of tiny tumblers they’re driven here and there, rolling head over end, in a dead heat to places unknown.

The remarkable thing, and I’ve always wondered about it, is where are they all going? Because, truth be told (at least where I live), for all of this movement, I can’t see any difference in what remains before me. The leaves the wind picks up and scatters down the hill are replaced, moment-by-moment, with the leaves moving up the hill from the other side! Something like a giant game of musical chairs, only there’s a spot for all of the players.

Everything moves, but nothing changes.

The ground over which these leaves race remains the same; it provides the stage upon which an infinite number of characters interact with one another, yet never really change anything other than their places. It seems to me this is a near perfect metaphor for spiritual aspirants to understand with regards to their True Self, and its relationship with the world around them.

Within us — the heart of us, really — is a “ground” that is to our thoughts and feelings — our relationships with others and ourselves — as is the earth to the leaves that first race across her and then… no longer able to run… give themselves up to nourish her body so that she may give birth again come the spring.

Be here. Be still; quietly remember the Presence of and within yourself, and you will know, without thinking, that while all around you everything changes, within you lives something unchanging. Fearlessness follows this discovery in much the same way as late evening shadows flee the morning light.

Finding Permanent Comfort in Times of Temporary Troubles was last modified: May 20th, 2014 by Guy Finley

Our stressful, pain-filled experiences are not caused by people or events but by our reactions to them. And yet, if we will honestly examine the way we presently question our defeats, here’s what we see: we are still desperately seeking answers that serve only to correct the surface or exterior conditions. We are still blaming circumstances for crushing us. The direction of our questions proves that we are still thinking incorrectly about our problems.

This is supremely important to grasp if we wish to change our inner and outer world. By their very nature, our old questions tend to make and then keep us victims. They imply that someone or something outside of ourselves is punishing us. No human being is a victim of any punishment outside of their own undeveloped life-level from which their inner reactions are seen as outer attacks. This is why we must learn to turn our questions into tools for developing self-wholeness instead of letting them lead us off in the wrong direction.

These new questions are the power that defeats defeat. They alone assure total victory. Each time you ask the right question about an inner ache, you receive the new and right result of being released from the dark deceptions that want you to fight with life. Here are ten new questions that lead to self-wholeness. Use them to see the difference between how you used to think and how you will question defeat from now on. You will win!

Questions for Developing Self-Wholeness

1. Instead of always asking yourself why things always happen to you, learn to ask: What is it inside of me that attracts these painful situations?

2. Instead of always asking yourself why things had to go this way or that way, learn to ask: Why is the way I feel always determined by external conditions?

3. Instead of always asking yourself how to protect yourself in challenging situations, learn to ask: What is it in me that always needs to be defended?

4. Instead of always asking yourself how to clear up your mental fog, learn to ask: Can confusion know anything about clarity?

5. Instead of always asking yourself what to do about tomorrow (or the next minute), learn to ask: Can there ever be intelligence in anxiety or worry?

6. Instead of always asking yourself why so-and-so acts this or that way, learn to ask: What’s inside of me that wants to hurt itself over how anyone else acts?

7. Instead of always crying out “Why me?” learn to ask: Who is this “me” that always feels this way?

8. Instead of always asking yourself if you’ve made the right choice, learn to ask: Can fear ever make a safe decision?

9. Instead of always asking yourself why doesn’t so-and-so see how wrong they are, learn to ask: Is what I’m feeling about that person right now good for me? Or them?

10. Instead of always asking yourself how to get others to approve you, learn to ask: What do I really want, the applause of the crowds or to quietly have my own life?

(Excerpted from The Secret of Letting Go, Rev. Edition, Llewellyn)

10 Questions That Lead to Self-Wholeness: The Power to Question Defeat was last modified: April 4th, 2014 by Guy Finley

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Shayne Traviss

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However sometime's growth involves digging up the dirt and planting anew...
And after over 20 years of marketing, promoting and producing others Shayne Traviss decided to open a new chapter in his life.
If you long to go higher, live a life 'all in' join him as he dives in deep sharing his life experiences, travels and inspirations for living a VividLife.